Pair of Bills Pass House

Mark Marich

In last week’s This Week in Entrepreneurship Policy post, we talked about a couple pieces of legislation to make it easier to start and scale new firms that were getting a close up look and vote from the House Rules Committee. Both of them—the Innovation Act (H.R. 3309) and the Small Business Capital Access and Job Preservation Act (H.R. 1105)—passed the House last week and are now on their way to the Senate.

The Innovation Act (H.R. 3309), introduced only in October by Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), sailed through by a vote of 325-91. The bill takes aim at patent trolls through a number of reforms including increased transparency and ‘fee shifting’ so the loser pays attorney fees in a patent case.

"In recent years, we have seen an exponential increase in the use of weak or poorly-granted patents by so-called patent trolls to file numerous patent infringement lawsuits against American businesses with the hopes of securing a quick payday," Goodlatte said in a statement. "Everyone from independent inventors, to start-ups, to mid and large sized businesses face this constant threat."

The Small Business Capital Access and Job Preservation Act (H.R. 1105), introduced by Congressman Robert Hurt (R-VA) in May 2013 passed by a vote of 254-159. The bill would effectively exempt private equity firms from registering with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

“The Small Business Capital Access and Job Preservation Act will reduce unnecessary regulations implemented by Dodd-Frank that inhibit private equity firms from investing private capital into small businesses,” Hurt said in a statement. "By reducing over-regulation, this bill will promote greater access to capital for small businesses, encouraging the creation of new jobs and economic stimulation across the country."

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